Finding a Job

It is really tough to find a job in today’s labour market. Work-seekers send in very many applications for jobs without success. The reason for this is that there are more people than jobs in the labour market, with the result that you will have to do your utmost to really stand out amongst other applicants.

This website will provide you with advice on how to improve your chances of obtaining a job. The following topics are covered:

  • Plan your job-hunt
  • Where can you find a job?
  • The advertisement
  • The Application form
  • Your CV
  • The Cover letter
  • The Interview.

Plan your job-hunt

You might feel overwhelmed and not know where to start with your job-hunting. Make sure you plan your job-hunt and focus on what you actually want. Here are some tips on how to plan your job-hunt:

  • Make a list of your qualifications, work experience, skills and career interests and see whether these can assist you with the type of career you want.
  • Visit a Career Counsellor at the Department of Labour for employment counselling
  • Visit the ESSA website and look for the self-help counselling sites of Choosing a careerand Finding the right careerfor you.
  • If you already have work experience in a particular career type, you might want to continue in that direction. Sometimes you would be forced to make another choice.
  • Read up on different careers, employers and industries which take your interest, as much as you can.
  • Do a focused job-hunt with the career types in mind that you are interested in.
  • Make a list of creative ways of how you will approach your job-hunting, for example:

Developing a flyer with your personal qualifications, strengths and experience and

contact details as well as a personal statement, which you can drop off at job fairs, companies and wherever you come across people that can hire you.

Making recommendations on how you will solve a problem at the company

Submitting samples of your work, for example art.

Submitting ideas and presentations onhow you would improve the work at the

company you are applying.

Study computer skills and getting a driver’s licence first

Improving your qualifications or skills

Obtaining work experience through a volunteer job.

Contacting the Career Counsellor at Department of Labour for a life skills programme.

on job-hunting.

Enhancing your employability by attending a life skills programme on work ethics or

interpersonal skills, etc

  • You can use the example of a job-hunting planto draw up your own.

Job-hunting plan

Job-hunting activity / Time to be spent / Due date
Go for employment counselling/decide on which careers I will apply for / Two days
Registering on Department of Labour’s website / One day
Read up on careers, employers, industries / Continuously
Drawing up my CV / One day
Searching the internet / Continuously
Deciding how I will approach my job-hunt in creative way / Continuously
Googling websites of private employment agencies / Continuously
Looking for positions in the newspaper / Daily
Googling your own name to ensure there are no negative information / Daily
Promoting your chances of getting employed via social media / Continuously
Visiting job fair/professional conference / As available
Check websites of employers / Once a week
Phoning employers after search in Yellow Pages / One day per week
Visit website of Government Departments / Once per week
Checking for volunteering positions on or google to find other sites / Weekly

Where can you find a job?

When you have to start looking for a job, you might feel overwhelmed and that you do not even know where to start.

You can look for a job at:

  • Labour Centres of the Department of Labour

The Labour Centres have a computerized job-matching system called the Employment Services system of South Africa (ESSA), which makes job-searching much easier. Your contact details, skills, qualifications and work experience will be captured on the ESSA, when you visit the Labour Centre. You can also register your own details online at www. labour.gov.za, go to “Online Services” and then to “ESSA”. Employers register their job and learning opportunities on the ESSA. If you meet the requirements set by the employers for the job and learning opportunities, the employment services official will refer you to the employer where vacant opportunities exist. This service is free of charge. You can also receive a range of employment counselling services free of charge, such as job preparation (CV-writing and advice on the job interview), or advice on your career choice, if you need more clarity about a future career path.

  • Private employment agencies

Private employment offices specialise in helping people find jobs. (The names, telephone numbers and addresses of private employment agencies can be found in the Yellow Pages under the heading “Personnel Consultants”). Some private employment agencies specialise in certain types of jobs and others advertise their positions on the internet. Send these organisations a copy of your CV so that they can find the right job for you, or apply electronically. Most of the private employment agencies do excellent work. However, there are a few Private Employment agencies that are bogus. The Employment Services Act, Act 4 of 2014 states that all private employment agencies must register with the Department of Labour. Do good research on the lawfulness of these organisations, by checking whether they really exist-is there a building and street address and is the agency registered with the Department of Labour as a private employment agency? Overseas companies sometimes does recruiting of staff in South Africa-make sure of the lawfulness of the offer before you resign your current job or make plans to move. A private employment agency may only charge the employer for placing you. Private Employment agencies may NOT charge you for any employment service, whether it be for placement, training or employment counselling. Whenever you must pay an amount, you must know that something is not right. A private employment agency may also not keep your original ID document or your original certificates. Report any illegal behaviour to the Labour Centre closest to you.

  • Computer or internet

The internet has perhaps become the best source of job opportunities of this time. You can find information on available jobs on the internet-go to or for example, and type in “jobsearch” into the search engine. You will then get many sites to explore for jobs. A company’s profile on Facebook can provide you with insight into the company and job listings. Also ask the Career Counsellors at the Labour Centres to assist you with internet sites where you may find work. There are also many examples that you can use to do your CV, cover letter to the employer, interview tips, etc. Other options are and and

  • Social media

The majority of people today use social media, such as Facebook, Whatsapp, BBM, WeChat, Google+ and twitter to communicate with friends and family. Many employers say that they look at a work-seeker’s social media presence, before they hire a person. People portraying an unprofessional or irresponsible profile, are not hired. Remember you can still control what you say on social media, but you cannot really control what others say about you. Set your privacy settings to the highest possible, place a profile photo that you are sure you want employers to see and keep your profile professional.

Wechat now even has a Money4Jam account where you can register and find all sorts of short jobs to do for money-these could be as simple as completing a survey or taking a photo with your phone. Add the account “Money4Jam” on Wechat to register.

You can make social media work for you in job-hunting. You can put your skills and work experiences onto a social media CV page and continue updating and adding value. You can have a twenty-four hour presence all over the world! Anyone can also respond to you immediately.

Share the type of job you are looking for with your connections on social media and see if your contacts have any helpful ideas. There are social media that you can use to place your CV, such as “Google+”, “Facebook Page” and “Skillspages”. Other useful applications are “Facebook Marketplace Jobs”, “Facebook BranchOut” and. ”TweetMyJob” for job postings and linkages to companies. On twitter you can also set up a hashtag such as #jobsearch to find job postings.

  • Newspapers

Many vacant job and training opportunities are still advertised in the various newspapers. Consult the daily and Sunday newspapers as well as “Jobmail” for these advertisements. Newspapers are available at all libraries for consultation.

  • Notice boards

Be on the lookout for notice boards on which advertisements for vacant posts appear. Such notice boards can usually be found at large shopping centres.

  • Yellow Pages

The Yellow pages, a special telephone directory available at post offices and libraries, can be very useful for discovering employers. This is how it works: At the back of the Yellow Pages there is an alphabetical index of various services. If, for example, you wish to become a gardener, page through the alphabetical index till you find the letter ‘G’. Under the letter ‘G’ you will find the heading “Garden service and layout”. Next to this heading is a page number. Turn to this page. On this page, again under the heading ‘Garden service and layout’, you will find the names, addresses and telephone numbers of companies that you can contact for a possible job as a gardener. If you have problems using the Yellow Pages, ask someone to help you.

  • Employers

Visit or phone employers in your career field and ask if they have any vacant posts available or check their internet sites. You can also contact them by telephone or letter.

  • Professional organisations

Professional organisations looking after the interests of professionals in a certain field, for example engineering associations or boards, may have opportunities on their website.

  • Volunteering

Volunteering means working free of charge at an organisation or in community service, maybe an animal shelter. Volunteering is an excellent way to get to know people. It is also a way of gaining knowledge and experience and building up your self-confidence. Visit the website

  • Networking

Most jobs are not filled through advertisements. They are filled by word-of-mouth, thus where people tell each other about job and learning opportunities. Many work-seekers may be hesitant to talk to previous co-workers, to neighbours or employers, because they do not want to look at others for favours. In today’s labour market it is essential to network, because employers like to work with people they know and like, or whom others recommend. Make a list of people you know that can help you, such as family, friends, previous co-workers, people that you meet when doing sports or a hobby, people you put up as a reference on your CV, etc. Make contact with these people and ask them if they know of a job or training opportunity and other people that may also be able to help. Build your personal brand (the image you send out to others) continuously, whilst you are networking. Reflect that you are a positive, keen and enthusiastic person, with good work habits and sooner than later, you will obtain a job. It is well-known, that many people got a job through whom they know. Ask people about jobs they do and what they can recommend for you. Networking can happen anywhere for instance at social occasions, youth groups, religious organizations, choirs or societies.

  • Career exhibitions and job fairs

Employers often hire people at career exhibitions and job fairs, so make sure you have your CV ready when you visit these.

  • Government Departments

The Government of South Africa is making all efforts to create job and study opportunities for its people to put the country on a winning path. These efforts are being driven through the different Government Departments. Many jobs are for example created to ensure South Africa has good roads and railways for overseas countries to invest. A variety of training programmes, such as learnerships, apprenticeships, Further Education and Training College training programmes are sponsored. Visit the websites of Government Departments to see if you can participate in any of these programmes.

The advertisement

The advertisement is your first point of contact with the employer, whether it is a printed advertisement or a small notice on the internet. It provides you with important information on what will be expected from you. Make sure you adhere to instructions. Many people are hired even before the interview! You can write down the answers to the following exercises on a separate piece of paper:

  • How does the employer want to be contacted-by a written application, e-mail, internet application, etc?
  • What will you be expected to do in the post?
  • What skills are required for the post?
  • Do you have the skills required for the post?
  • What skills do you not have?
  • What knowledge is required?
  • What knowledge do you have?
  • What knowledge do you not have?
  • Do you have experience required?
  • Do you have the qualities required, for example self-starter, responsible, honest?
  • Which qualification is required?
  • Is there a registration required with a professional body?
  • Where will you be working?
  • What challenges will you be experiencing should you get the job, eg will have to move, will need to travel far.
  • What salary will you earn and can you live from it?

The Application Form

Employers sometimes have to screen through literally hundreds of applications for one position. The application form assists the employer to screen “possible candidates” and “not suitable” based on a number of factors, such as your qualifications, gaps in work experience, whether you are willing to volunteer to obtain experience, skills, etc. It also provides the employer with a first glance impression of how thorough a worker you are and whether you can present work neat and tidy.It usually requires enough information to assist the employer to do a background check as to whether you have the qualifications you claim or any other trait that may make you a risky employee, such as debt. You might also be required to declare whether you have a criminal record.

If you need to apply online, do your application on paper or as a MsWord document and save the document, so you can do a spell-check. You can then transfer the information to the online form.

The following checklist will help you to complete your application form well:

Checklist for application form

Check the boxes which you have adhered to:

Application form requirements / √
I have read through the application form and understand all the questions
I used a good black pen to complete the application form or typed the information
I have used the same pen for the whole application form
I used block letters where the employer wanted it
I kept my answers short and to the point
I have mentioned the position that I am applying for and its reference number
I provided positive responses for job changes and they are truthful, eg end of contract, redundancy
I put extensive work experience in my CV and referred to it on the application form
I remained within spaces allocated to answer
There are no ink smudges or other dirty marks on the application form
The form is not crumpled.
I have answered all the questions truthfully and correctly
I have answered questions with relevant answers that cannot be understood differently and work against me
I checked and rechecked for spelling and grammar
I have signed and dated the application form
The application form is bound in a neat file with the CV and cover letter that will make it stand out
I used a big enough envelope so I do not need to fold my application documents
The application form will reach the employer before the closing date.
I have kept a copy of my application for my own records

Your CV

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is the story of your career. It is also referred to as resume sometimes.

The CV is the document that convinces the employer that you must be called for an interview. You need to make sure you have a CV that sets you apart from other candidates! What employers will look for in your CV, is your work attitude and work personality and whether your knowledge, skills and previous work experience match the requirements of the post. Many employers are of the opinion that work attitude and work personality are the two most important factors predicting job success. These are aspects you will have to bring out in your CV. You also need to keep them in mind right through your work life!